Commercial aircraft include an interior cabin that may be divided into numerous sections. A cockpit is generally separated from a passenger cabin, which may include a first class section, a business class section, and a coach section. The passenger cabin may also include one or more work areas for flight personnel, such as galleys, which may include food and beverage storage structures. One or more aisles pass through the passenger cabin and connect each of the passenger sections to one or more paths to one or more doors of the aircraft.
Seat assemblies are secured within the cabin. Each seat assembly may include a tray table secured to a back portion. The tray table is configured to be moved between a stowed, upright position, and a supporting position. During a flight, for example, an individual seated behind a particular seat assembly may move the tray table to the supporting position in order to support objects thereon. For example, during in-flight beverage service, the tray table may be moved to the supporting position so that a passenger may place a beverage and snacks on a supporting surface of the tray table. During take-off and landing phases of flight, the tray tables are secured in the stowed, upright position.
As can be appreciated, during a typical flight, the tray tables may become contaminated. For example, a passenger may spill a beverage on a tray table. Further, the tray table may become covered with crumbs. Also, a passenger may sneeze in proximity to the tray table, such that germs are spread onto the supporting surface. In short, a tray table may be covered with various contaminants, such as food and beverage remnants, germs, bacteria, and the like.
Accordingly, tray tables are periodically cleaned by flight attendants or ground-based cleaning personnel between flights. However, there may not be sufficient time to effectively clean each tray table. Moreover, individual flight attendants may not thoroughly clean each tray table. As such, various contaminants may remain on particular tray tables, which may pose real and/or perceived health concerns to future passengers.
Accordingly, a need exists for a system and method for effectively and efficiently sanitizing tray tables within a vehicle.